Countdown to Departure
by O2Shea
Summary: I don't own any part of Roswell, but wish I did! Max & Liz are married. So are Michael & Maria. Liz is pregnant. All of them, along with Isabel & Tess are about to leave Earth. These are the events that led up to that ... & their first experiences among the aliens...
1. Chapter 1

**Part 1**

Liz Evans sat on the grass under the tree in her front yard. Her husband, Max, napped with his head in her lap. She thought about the years they had shared. The autumn breeze sent a flurry of leaves falling from the tree. It might be the last time they saw an autumn on earth. Tomorrow they would depart for Max's home planet. She glanced down at him and met his gaze as he watched her.

"It's a lot to leave, Liz. Are you sure you are up for it? I can't promise you a return trip." His earnest tone of voice made her smile reassuringly at him.

"And where would I find another you? Besides, you're the heir to the throne and I now carry your child. I want to be with my child, Max... and I want to be with you."

"Is Maria coming? Has she decided?"

"Not officially... but I can't imagine that she would have married Michael if she wasn't willing to go with him. She has always known he wanted to go home... We all have known that. Of you all, Michael and Tess have been the most intense about a longing for your planet. I think she'll come."

"Your parents aren't going to be happy when they find we've gone. Neither will ours. I wish it didn't have to be this way... If the time comes when we're able to return or to bring them to visit, you know I will."

"I know. The important thing now is to go and show that you are still alive and come in force. Your mother said that your followers are waiting for your presence. Surely the fact that we're expecting a child will only strengthen your cause. I am your partner in this, Max. I have been since the day you healed me... and I promised you I'd always be on the day I married you."

Max sat up and kissed her. "I don't know what I ever did to deserve you. You are the greatest gift in my life..."

"Mutual, of course!" She laughed up at him. He was so solemn!

"Liz, there are no guarantees. We don't know that everything will be ideal when we get there... It probably won't. I'm sure that having you and the baby will mean a great deal, but that will make us more vulnerable also. I don't know if I am even doing the right thing in allowing everyone to go. It isn't as though we know what it'll be like. Even the four of us who came from that planet don't know what to expect. There is absolutely no way we could prepare you and Maria for whatever awaits."

"Max, don't even make noises that sound like you are thinking of leaving us behind! You can't! Maria, Isabel, Tess and I ARE going with you and Michael! There is no way you are leaving us behind!"

"Liz, it really might be safer..."

"No! You don't even know if you COULD ever come back for us. We are going with you tomorrow and that is final. Whatever is there, we will all face it together... We have been a team for a long time. That is how they were able to get regular communication going with your planet... Destiny has obviously has taken a hand in bringing us all together. Or God..."

"I'm still not sure I believe in God."

"Oh, Max! How could anyone who can do the things you can NOT believe in God? I'm alive today because of the life that you sent flowing though me... Remember?"

They stood under the tree, arms around each other. Max absently kissed the top of her hair as they both thought back through the years to the day he almost lost the only girl who ever captured his heart.

Since then he had occasionally thought he might have lost her. Certainly he had sometimes feared that he had. Every time it looked like they might drift apart Fate took a hand and brought them face to face. Inevitably, they always realigned together. They were soul mates and now they were bound for the stars...


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

Michael and Maria Guerin were having a major blowout of a fight. Again. Their entire relationship was so tempestuous that their friends took bets on whether the wedding would actually take place. That was six months ago. Tomorrow they were scheduled to depart for Michael's home planet.

"Michael Guerin, you are crazy if you think I'm going away with you to another planet when even **_you_** don't know what we will find there! You don't even know if your side will actually win this war! And for this you expect me to leave my mother and friends like Alex who I've known for my entire life!"

Michael put a hand on her arm. "Chill out, Maria..."

She pulled away from his touch. "No. You can't get around me on this, Michael! If this was such a great adventure, why is Alex staying here? And Kyle! He's not going either. If it was such a great idea to go, wouldn't **_they_** be going with Isabel and Tess?"

Michael tried to be patient. "Kyle never had any desire to **_associate_** with us, Maria, much less to actually leave the earth!"

"How about Alex then?" Maria spun to face him. "You can't tell me he isn't still in love with Isabel because I know for a fact that he is!"

"Yes. But she's not in love with **_him_**. She seems to really value his friendship, but there is no reason to make a commitment like this to someone who doesn't love you... And Liz **_will_** be there..."

The look on Maria's face told him **_that_** was the wrong thing to say. "Right! Putting her baby on the line before it's even born! What an idiot! And as for Alex going when Isabel doesn't love him, what about Liz and me? How can we be sure that you and Max won't be forced to abandon us and marry Isabel and Tess?"

"Because they said that our vows would be honored. We have been through **_all_** of this..." Michael was running out of patience.

"Yeah... And I want to go through it again, Guerin! You think all this is **_easy_** for me?" Maria flung around to look at him... all tears and fire.

The last of Michael's small store of patience drained away. "**_Fine!_** Maybe you're right. Maybe it is too dangerous out there for you girls... especially you and Liz. Max and I should probably go on ahead and make the world safe before you come..."

Maria clenched her fists and beat against his chest. "**_Right!_** Leave me the first chance you get! This is not like the other times we've broken up, Michael. You leave me behind now and I will **_never_** speak to you again - on **_any_** planet!"

Michael took her wrists and held them so she could not keep hitting him. "**_Look! You_** are the one who said..."

Maria pulled her arms away, hugging herself as she cried. "I **_know_** what I said! Anyway, with my luck, we'd get there and have the worst fight we've ever had and then what? I'd be stuck a zillion miles away with someone who didn't love me..."

Michael calmed down immediately. So **_that_** was what was worrying her. He sat down and pulled her into his lap. "Maria, I will **_never_** stop loving you. I may not tell you often enough to suit you, but you **_know_** that I do! For one thing, I can't keep my hands off you!" She cuddled against him, her tears subsiding. "Those soulful looks Max and Liz give one another may be enough for them, but I have to **_touch_** you... even in public. **_You_** are the most important person in my world. You are the only thing I care about taking with me. When I asked you to marry me and come with me... I'm telling you **_that_** was the scariest moment of my life! I was so afraid you would say no..."

Maria kissed him hungrily. "I love you, Michael! I never **_wanted_** to marry anyone else! I thought I would **_die_** when Liz said you were all leaving... until you asked me! I want to be **_anywhere_** you are..."

A sexy, whimsical smile curved his lips as he said, "Then why are we wasting time arguing? We have a perfectly good bed waiting for us... and who knows when we'll have this much privacy again?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

Isabel Evans and Alex Whitman sat uncomfortably across from one another in the finest restaurant the town of Roswell, New Mexico had to offer. The conversation was stilted... sometimes overly polite, sometimes impassioned.

**_"Why?"_** Alex thought as he gazed at her face on the last evening they would ever spend together. _"Of all the girls there are to fall for, why did I have to pick one whose home is on another planet? It isn't just because she's beautiful... Other girls are just as great looking. But there's something about Isabel that I find totally irresistible..."_

He tried again. "You know, Isabel, it's not too late. We could still drive to Las Vegas and get married. I'd go with you to your planet. You know I would. It's no secret to anyone - least of all YOU - how much I love you!"

Isabel smiled fondly at him. "Alex, you know that I'll always consider you my friend... and a special friend. But, Alex, I'm not in love with you. A marriage between us would not make sense... especially for you. Believe me."

Alex shook his head, totally puzzled. "Isabel, what do you get out of this trip? Do you still think you're meant to marry Michael? Because if he's taking Maria all the way to another planet only to move on to **_anyone_** else I won't let her go! Somehow I'm not worried that Max would ever let anyone pry him loose from Liz."

"No, Alex. I will never marry Michael. I have no desire to... and you're wrong about him. He loves Maria every bit as much as Max loves Liz... And he really admires you... You are a wonderful friend!"

He ducked his head in embarrassment and took a sip of his drink. He asked, yet again, "Are you sure it's safe for them to go to your planet? I mean, they **_are_** human and..."

"Alex, relax. So are we."

"Huh? But you - It's **_your_** planet... And..."

"We are human too. If the four of us could survive in comfort there, so could Maria and Liz. Hybrid, remember?"

"Oh. Yeah. OK." He took another sip and reflected that the meal was the most expensive one he had ever had no appetite for.

The lights in the restaurant dimmed to a more romantic level. The two at the table did not speak. Alex hoped she could not see the tears in his eyes as he thought about the loss of her... and Maria... and Liz in his life.

Finally he spoke. "I won't ever see any of you again, will I?" He coughed to clear the catch in his voice and hoped he had covered it up.

Isabel was starting to feel that the whole evening had been a mistake. She knew how much this was hurting Alex. She was very fond of him and had wanted to give him an opportunity to say good-bye in his own way. Somehow it had all turned out to be pouring salt in wounds that might never heal. She had never meant for that to happen. Her reply was gentle. "I don't know, Alex. It **_is_** possible that we can establish a way to visit back and forth. It's just too soon to tell. We have a planet to stabilize first. The war isn't over yet, you know."

Another mistake. "So you could all just die out there and I would never know... That's true, isn't it? It could all be for nothing!" He put his face in his hands, no longer pretending that he was unemotional about all this.

"Alex. Listen to me." Isabel pulled his hands down so that she could look directly into his eyes. "I might be able to stay in communication with you."

"Wh-what?"

"You know that I can dream walk. I believe that time and space won't have any effect on that. I should be able to stay in touch with **_you_**, Alex. There is no one else on earth that would make it possible. But you could. If you want me to..."

Alex looked at her thoughtfully. One part of him wanted to jump at the idea of staying in contact with them. Another wanted to close the door, call it over, and go on with his life alone. The dominant side won. "OK. I want you to dream walk me any time you want... unless the time ever comes when I ask you not to. I don't know if that will ever happen. It's possible, though, that if I ever **_do_** find someone else I want to marry, she may not like to have me in contact with a glamorous alien I used to love..." He laughed a little.

"I could understand that." Isabel smiled too. This was getting better.

"Come on. Let's take a walk before I take you home."

"I can't, Alex. I want to have some time with my parents before we leave. They don't know anything about it and they won't until after we are gone. It would be just too hard to explain everything after all this time. And I don't want to say any more good-byes." Now she looked misty eyed. "I just **_had_** to say good-bye to **_you_**. You have been too special in my life not to. You are the only guy on earth who has known me for who and what I am and loved me anyway. How could I **_not_** let you know how special you are?" She kissed him... a long, loving, final kiss.

He somehow was holding her in his arms... where he always wanted her. "But not special enough to marry, hmmm?" His voice was wistful and regretful.

"Way **_too _**special to marry when I'm not in love with you. Someone else will find you fascinating and funny **_and _**be in love with you some day. **_She's_** the one you want to marry... Thanks for the dinner... And I **_will_** be in touch with you... often." Isabel gave him a last hug and quickly left the restaurant.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own "Roswell". I just like to play there.

**Part 4**

The atmosphere was charged with a variety of emotions at the Valenti dinner table that night. Too much was known about the projected departure and too little was known about the destination point. Every so often Amy Valenti would sigh. Jim and Kyle would cast surreptitious looks at one another that they hoped the others would not notice. Tess' attention was focussed on a plate of food she was not really eating. Finally Jim spoke. "So Maria is definitely going?"

Amy answered, trying to give an impression of calm that she was far from feeling. "Yes... Well, I always knew she would. There was no way she was going to stay here when Michael was leaving. She has been totally obsessed by that boy from the time he first noticed her."

Jim smiled at her. "Well, if he is half as crazy about her as I am about her mother he'll take good care of her."

"I know... It's just..." Amy could not go on.

He went around behind her chair and leaned down to hold her gently, his cheek against her hair. "I know."

Kyle cleared his throat and rose from the table. "Well, I think I am through here. Want to come for a walk, Tess?"

Tess smiled up at him in relief. "Yes."

They picked sweaters up and left the house.

"Thanks," Tess said. "Somehow I felt like there was nothing to say."

Kyle shrugged. "There wasn't. You are all going. That's it."

Tess turned to face him. "It is incredible for **_me_**, Kyle! This has been The Goal of my life for as long as I can remember."

"Even without being married to Max?"

"Yes." She was quiet for a minute. "I don't know why there were other options when it came to our destiny in this life. Obviously there were and one of them will turn up for me."

"Tess, stay here with us! Any way you want it. If you want to be my sister, you can be. I would marry you if you wanted me to. Having you here has been great, Tess! I'm really going to miss you if you go... So will Dad and Amy."

She smiled and took the sides of his sweater in each hand. "So you'd really marry me, hmmm, Buddha boy? I'm flattered."

"Well... sure I would! Tess, you know how incredible I think you are! I even forget that you are one of **_them!" _**

She dropped her hands and turned away. "That's just the point, Kyle. I never forget. I know I never would."

Kyle had realized his mistake instantly. "Tess, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I just meant..."

Tess shook her head slightly. "No... I know what you meant... I guess that rules out any chance that you would want to come along?"

**_"What?" _**Kyle was obviously horrified.

"Forget it. It's OK. Honest." Tess walked along with him in silence for a few minutes before continuing. "It's just that I know that Alex is trying to convince Isabel to marry him. Then **_he_** would be coming. It sounds so mean of me, but I hope he doesn't succeed."

"Why?" Kyle was curious.

She stopped, picked up a dry leaf and gave it direct attention as she shredded it. When she dropped it she looked at Kyle and said, "Because then I would be the only one to arrive alone."

"You don't have to be alone. You don't **_have_** to go!"

"I do. I have wanted this my whole life. I just thought I would be going as part of a couple."

Kyle looked down, at a loss for words. "Tess, I don't know what to say."

"Nothing." She continued to walk.

"Isabel won't marry Whitman."

"How do you know?"

He looked upward. "Hey, we Buddhists are sensitive types sometimes."

She pushed him. "No... Really!"

Kyle stopped playing and placed his hands on her shoulders. "He thinks the universe revolves around her. She thinks he's a nice guy. Anyone could see that. She may want to get married... but not enough to do that to a nice guy."

"Do what?"

"Marry him and take him away from all he knows when she doesn't love him."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, Tess. You wouldn't either."

"I wouldn't?"

"No... We aren't in love... But we really **_like _**one another. Our relationship could work in any direction here on earth. It would have to be a lot tighter, though, to work when that was all there was... You know that. And so does Isabel."

"I really will miss you, Kyle!" She surprised him by flinging her arms around him and planting a quick passionate kiss on his mouth.

Then she ran back to the house, to her room... so soon to be Kyle's again. She was ready for Destiny's next play.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own "Roswell". I just like to play there.

**Part 5**

At 3:00AM the world is quiet almost anywhere outside of big cities. At 3:00AM on November 4 six former residents of Roswell, New Mexico were standing on a hillside near the pod chamber where four of them had been born. It was cold and dark. They were nervous and exhilarated as they waited for the transport that would take them to their new home.

Tears ran down Isabel's cheeks as she thought of the letters she and Max and Liz had just mailed to their parents. It would be so hard on them! She hoped desperately that there would be some way to combine her old and new worlds.

A current of excitement ran through them as they stood, hand in hand in a circle as instructed. The altered beam from the communication orbs shone into the sky. Without a sound a solid beam shone down to meet the light from the orbs. It widened to include those gathered around it and brightened. Then it disappeared and the hillside was empty. Even the orbs were gone.

It had taken five years for the group who departed to reach that night. For Max, Isabel, Michael, and Tess it had been a long twenty-one years. Most of the time three of them had not known anything of their origins... except for memories which told them that they were different and talents that proved it.

Tess was the only one who had actual memories of the home planet... and those memories had been furnished by Nasedo, the alien who raised her. She alone was aware all of her life. It was Tess who furnished many of the answers in the early stages that led to their emigration.

Learning to use the orbs had been a breakthrough. The original message from Max's and Isabel's mother had given them a great deal of information in a small capsule. Later use of the orb had been the key to contact.

That original use had also alerted their enemies to their existence. The Skins had been a vicious enemy but ultimately their defeat was a foregone conclusion. They had a physical vulnerability that made them easy to defeat one on one. Only their leader, Nicholas, had represented a challenge... especially since he was in contact with the enemy who enslaved their planet... Kivar.

He was the one who brought in a second serious enemy also... duplicates of themselves who had grown up rough and fought with no holds barred. Tess was glad that her duplicate was more interested in distancing herself from the others than in being a part of their evil plan. There was something disconcerting about battling those who looked and sounded identical to Michael and Isabel. (Max's duplicate had been murdered by the malevolent duo.)

The group took personal satisfaction in their defeat. Kivar had suggested to Nicholas that perhaps Liz might make good bait for Max. One night Nicholas and Rath, Michael's dupe, kidnapped Liz as she closed the Crashdown Cafe. What they didn't know was that Liz had her cell phone in her pocket. She kept her head and pushed the speed dial for Max. He and Michael were aware of everything that happened.

They drove to a ghost town several miles from Roswell. Liz was shoved into a building where Lonnie, Isabel's dupe, smiled falsely at her. "Make yourself comfortable." She kicked a chair that looked like kindling in Liz's direction. Liz sat, carefully keeping her hand away from the pocket where her phone acted like a beacon.

"Now what?" Liz tried to sound cool.

"You should never have gotten involved with Max, you know. You're **_changing_** everything. He should be attached to that dolly you call Tess. So cute. So **_blonde! _**What does he see in **_you_** anyway?" Lonnie walked around Liz, keeping an amused smile on her face.

"I don't know. Love, I guess."

"Love, I guess!" Lonnie mimicked and exaggerated what Liz had said.

"What are you planning to do now?"

"Me? I'm doing nothing but keeping you company. And keeping you here." Lonnie walked to the window and looked out, for the first time sounding annoyed. "On the off chance that Max has some kind of radar for you **_I_** am here to surprise him." She took an irritated turn about the room. "He won't be here though! He'll be where Nicholas told him to be! **_They'll_** get to have all the fun!" She stopped and looked at Liz. "I might get to finish **_you_** off. Not much sport in **_that_** though..."

The hours passed and Liz wondered if her phone was still broadcasting. Suddenly the door blew open. Lonnie and Liz both spun around and Lonnie grabbed Liz, holding her in front of her under a heavy chandelier that still hung on rickety rafters.

Maria was in the doorway. "What do **_you_** want?" Lonnie mocked. "You can't save your friend... however you got here. Of course you **_can_** join her! Come here!"

Maria came into the room and made eye contact with Liz without saying anything. She held up Max's cell phone. Her own phone was in her pocket, safely broadcasting to Max who had Isabel's phone.

Lonnie relaxed as that solved one question. She ran her hands over Liz's pockets and located her open phone. "Oh, how sweet! You really did reach out to someone... Too bad it was only **_her_**. She may be your friend, but she can't **_rescue_** you!" She paused and reconsidered, narrowing her eyes. "Why didn't you call Max? Or **_did _**you? Is he out there?"

A new voice rang out as the threatening chandelier crashed a foot away. "No. Max isn't here." Lonnie, now a foot away from Liz, turned to see Isabel standing in the frame of the broken window behind her. "Why don't you come out and play? It's just us girls."

Lonnie turned toward Liz and found both she and Maria had quietly escaped the building while Isabel held her attention. Isabel continued. "No? Well, in that case, how about a nice bonfire?" Tess stepped up to join Isabel and, a moment later, the building was engulfed in flame. Lonnie did not escape.

"That felt so weird..." Isabel murmured. "It was like executing a part of myself..."

"That's exactly what it was, Isabel," Tess remarked gravely. "It just wasn't the better part of you!"

Meanwhile, Max and Michael were glad to know via phone that Liz was rescued. Now they could concentrate on the others.

Max was waiting as Rath came up to him. "What do you expect me to do now?"

"Well, bro, I expect you to try something totally heroic and totally stupid," Rath said frankly. "Not a good idea when Lonnie has your lady."

Nicholas joined them from behind Max. In his hand was an alien dagger. He was just about to thrust it into Max when Michael silently joined them. He immediately beat Nicholas on the side of his back, the area where Skins were vulnerable. Nicholas turned his head as he died, unable to believe that the three of them had not prevailed when the scheme was so well planned. Rath had an incredulous look on his face as Max took the dagger from Nicholas' falling hand and killed Rath with it.

Michael turned pale and wiped his hand across his forehead. "I meant to do that, Maxwell, but I have to say I'm glad you did it!"

Max gave him a grim smile and said, "Me too. Let's go join the girls."

They rejoined at the Crashdown and spent the evening together. They had been friends before that. Some of them had been close. That day was when they became a team.

It was Liz that suggested using the orbs for communication again. Michael was opposed to it, afraid it might summon more enemies.

Max finally decided to try it. They were all there. So were Alex and Kyle and Sheriff Valenti. This time they were able to tune directly to their mother. Things were improving on her planet also.

Kivar had sent Nicholas, his closest ally, and a group of hand picked Skins to earth to exterminate the royal group that had been sent. He had also found the remnants of the biological blend that was used to develop the hybrids. His scientists were told to duplicate whatever had been made and send them to earth also. That was where the flawed duplicates came from.

Now all the plans on earth had come to nothing. On the planet itself a rebellion was taking place. Courtney, a Skin who had been a friend of Michael's, told the group about it before she died. A renegade band of Skins was fighting against Kivar and all he stood for. Without Nicholas and his followers to back him, Kivar was barely stemming the tide of rebellion. Their mother urged them to come home as soon as she could arrange transport. They were needed. Max was needed.

Another negative result of their first contact was a misunderstanding that temporarily separated Max and Liz. Because Max had been wed to Tess when they last lived on the home planet, the group had the impression that the same relationship was a requirement on earth too. Further contacts made it clear that both couples in the past were the result of betrothals that took place in infancy... While they were friendly, there was no passion in either the pairing of Max and Tess or that of Michael and Isabel. In fact, it was that very lack of passion that had caused Isabel, in her previous life as Velandra, to become fascinated with Kivar, their mortal enemy. That attraction had doomed them all. It had enabled Kivar to usurp Max's throne.

Their mother made it clear that they were each free to make their own choices of mate. When they came home those choices would be honored. She was looking forward especially to Max's return with his pregnant bride.

The final hurdle they passed had been when Sheriff Jim Valenti married Maria's mother, Amy. He knew all about the hybrid group and their secrets. He was unwilling to marry Amy and keep a secret from her that Maria and he were both involved with.

As predicted, Amy was incredulous. "You're kidding, right? Where's the camera? Hello! Candid Camera from the Crashdown! **_Of course _**we have aliens!" She laughed.

"No. Really." Jim finally had to get the group together to convince her. She especially liked Isabel's trick of changing the structure of things... like the colors of her nail polish.

It was only when it came to Maria's relationship with Michael that she really balked. "How could you even think of marrying an alien?"

"Mom, he is a hybrid! He is just as much human as he is alien."

"What about your children? Do you really want to give birth to little weird babies?"

"**_All_** babies are little and look weird!"

Both laughed. Amy said, "You know what I mean."

"Mom, Michael has human DNA. And I love him."

Maria was twenty. Amy knew that she could not change her mind. She also knew that she would lose her. Serious talk of marriage between her and Michael had come up since the group had made plans to leave earth.

The white walls of the room on the spaceship glowed around them as they materialized on board. They were still holding hands. They looked around as the door opened and they saw the first alien that was not adapted to live on earth.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own "Roswell". I just like to play there.

**Part 6**

He walked into the room. Tall and stately, he had an ethereal body. His hair was silver, his face unlined, and his eyes had the soulful quality Max's eyes held.

Maria let out the breath she was holding and, only then, realized how relieved she was that the alien was humanoid. 'The man,' she reminded herself, 'not the alien. I can't keep thinking of all these people as aliens. Liz and I are the aliens here... What a weird thought!' She glanced around to see if the others were similarly reassured.

Max stepped toward the man, who tilted his head formally in his direction and said, "Your Highess... I am your uncle, King Zan... your mother's brother."

With a wave of his hand, Max interrupted him. "We will continue to use our present names. Mine is Max."

The man paused only briefly. "As you will..." He looked at Michael and nodded as to an equal. His gaze returned to Max. "Which lady is your consort, our queen?" Then, without waiting for an answer, he stepped up to Liz and touched her shoulder. "Ah, yes..." He smiled into her eyes. "Yes, I see. You are indeed his soulmate. You have the same vibration... And your child has the resonance of future greatness."

Tess felt a slightly sick lurch in the pit of her stomach during this speech. She had the memory of her last wedding ceremony. In spite of everything, she had thought that eventually she would be the one at his side.

Almost as though he could hear her thoughts, the man came to her and looked down at her. "No, my daughter. He is not truly yours... even though I made the error of betrothing you to him long ago."

Startled, Tess gazed into his kind eyes and found only love there. He continued, "Follow your heart. Only then will you find fulfillment." He turned to smile at the rest of the group. "You see, these years of slavery have taught us some things that we should never have forgotten!"

He looked at Isabel and added, "Do not be dismayed. Forgiveness can be found here also. It was not the 'you' who stands here now who betrayed us, you know, but the 'you' destroyed on the planet earth... The very best in each of you has returned to us..."

Finally, he walked over to Maria and placed his hand on her shoulder. A slight vibration passed between them. He turned to Michael without moving his hand. "You have chosen well also. This one is pure of heart and filled with many kinds of beauty. The resonance of your daughter is one of total joy... That one will surely dance!"

"What daughter?" Michael's eyes met Maria's and sparked with awareness.

"Ah..." The man smiled. "You had not yet discovered her presence?"

"No..." Maria gulped.

Liz smiled at her friend. "It's OK, Maria... We're in this together..."

"Yeah... In more ways than one!"

"Come... There are apartments for your refreshment. We will arrive in a few hours... Not on our planet, to be sure, but on a secret base in one of the moons... We want your arrival, your Highess, to be a total surprise... Especially to Kivar!" He smiled warmly.

Max returned the smile. "When do we see my mother?"

"As soon as we have retaken the planet. I am in touch with her but we must not risk discovery of your presence ahead of time, so she determined that your reunion must wait. It should not take long now that you have come... The people despise this dictator of thought and deed... He has very little support left and it will fade as your Highess comes back... from the dead!"

He paused and a doorway opened into a lounge equipped with several couches and a viewscreen of the universe they traveled through. Soft music played in the background, but as soon as Max and Liz entered the room this changed to the strains of "I Shall Believe"... Liz whirled to look at the man. He smiled and said, "The room is programmed to meet your tastes, your desires, and your needs... Enjoy!" He turned to go.

"Wait!"

He paused at Max's command. "Yes, your Highess?"

"What do we call you?"

"Jafra."

"Thank you, Jafra."

The door closed and the wall looked solid. Michael nervously approached it as if he suspected it had become a cell. The door reappeared and opened. Michael wondered what would happen if he forgot where the door was... He walked a few feet to the left and approached the wall. Here, too, a door appeared. 'Cool,' he thought. Then... 'What if it's an outside wall?' He approached a wall to the right that seemed different from the others. A melodious voice said, 'Please select any interior wall to be provided with an exit.' He smiled to himself. 'Very cool.'

Maria had been watching him and understood his thought processes well enough to know exactly what he was doing. She was still overwhelmed at the thought that she was pregnant... and that this stranger seemed to know more about her baby right now than she would when it was born. She sat down on one of the couches and thought, 'Soft. Not a bad color if you like blue... Wish it was orange...' It became orange. Maria almost came off it, then calmed down. 'OK,' she thought, 'A coke would be really good about now...' And a coke appeared on a small table at her elbow. She tasted it. 'Wow! It really tastes like coke too!' Now she knew how Michael felt when he approached her with a smile.

Isabel stood in front of the viewscreen. She was unaware that tears were sliding down her cheeks until Max came up to her and gently removed them. "Let it go, Iz. That was another person. Another life."

"I know, Max... I just had not realized how much that was weighing on me until Jafra told me that it was not my burden... It was Lonnie's..."

Max kissed her temple and went to Liz. "You doing OK?"

"Oh, yes... Just looking for the bathroom." She laughed. "The usual search of the maternally expecting..."

As she spoke a door opened into a smaller attached room. This door could be seen at all times. "Probably only one of them per room," Maria muttered.

Liz entered and the door slid shut behind her. She used a facility that combined the features of a commode and a bidet back home. Then she studied her face in the mirror... a mirror that was not glass and not metal, but was clearer than either. "Well," she told herself, "For a small town girl from Roswell, New Mexico, you are certainly getting around first class."

An unexpected voice answered her. "Of course, Highess... You are our new queen."

Liz turned to see who had spoken. A young girl in a long, simple green tunic and softly flowing slacks stood in the mirror facing her. She saw herself... and she saw the girl. She looked behind her, saw no one, and looked back at the mirror. The girl regarded her with interest and patience.

"Who are you?"

"I am Lucina, your handmaiden."

"Where are you?"

"In my apartment. You spoke and I thought you might be summoning me."

"Ah... No... Not now... I would like to meet you soon... but not right now... OK?"

"As you will, Highess..." The image of the other girl faded.

Liz met her own surprised gaze and thought, 'We definitely are not in Kansas... er, New Mexico... any more... But I think I'm going to like it here..."


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own "Roswell". I just like to play there...

**Part 7**

Liz turned toward the door. It opened as soon as she touched it. She smiled. Maria was coming toward her and she murmured, "You'll **_love_** the bathroom!"

Maria looked curiously at her and entered the bathroom. Great mirror! She leaned over to look at her reflection. Nope. She didn't **_look _**any different. She wished she had not left her bag in the room outside, though. Hardly had she thought it before the bag appeared on the counter in front of her. "Very nice," Maria said approvingly.

Tess looked at the viewscreen. They traveled so rapidly that they would arrive in the other galaxy in a matter of hours. She would have to ask Jafra how that was accomplished. Jafra. Her father. It felt right... but unusual. Nasedo had certainly never been a father to her... just a guardian. Jim Valenti had briefly been more like a father... but they had both known that their relationship was only temporary.

As if her thoughts had summoned him, Jafra entered the lounge and came to stand beside her. For a few moments they both watched the viewscreen in silence.

"It is a miracle to have you back, dear one." He raised his hand and gently touched her hair, then curved around her cheek.

Tess was initially not entirely comfortable with this and almost told him so. As her eyes met his, however, the emotions stirring in their dark depths made her suddenly thrill to the fact that she was loved so very much. Her father loved her!

"I am looking forward to our homecoming... maybe more than any of them are..." She gestured around the room. "Most of my life on earth was outside of relationships with others."

"We have friends who look forward to your return. Larek, for one. He was always in love with you. If you had not been betrothed to Zan from the time you were born you would undoubtedly have wed him." Jafra was rueful. "You would have been safe if you had. Or safer," he amended.

Tess put her hand on his arm. "Don't reproach yourself. As you have said, we have a second chance." She smiled. "As it happens, I've met Larek! He spoke with some of us on earth."

"He will be there in person when we arrive on the moon. I am sure that the main reason he is coming is to welcome you home... And the King, of course."

"Of course." Tess knew her voice gave away some of the bitterness she had tried to hide since Max had married Liz.

"My Ava, what is it that you dislike so about the new queen?"

"Please call me Tess... It's the name I am used to... and since the others will be keeping the names they used on earth..." She tried to evade the question.

"As you wish... Why do you dislike her so much?"

Tess hesitated. "She is so **_ordinary_**. She is pretty, she is nice, and she is very intelligent. Even on earth, though, there were more exceptional people. Why **_her?_** All of my life, Nasedo trained me to think of myself as our future queen. What can **_she_** offer the people of our planet? She is merely human, after all."

"No, my dear. She is infinitely more than that." She looked curiously at Jafra's absolute tone. "She is the King's soulmate. They have an identical vibration. No one in any universe could be as perfect a mate for him as she is. The children they have will be stronger and more perfectly attuned as a result. The future of our planet is assured by our beautifully matched young royal pair."

"I believe you." Tess totally resigned the destiny that Nasedo had insisted was hers. "I've been around them for a while now. Max has never believed that anyone else was his mate... He often spoke of creating his own destiny."

Jafra gave a little cough that Tess recognized as a laugh. "His own destiny? His lady IS his destiny... from the beginning of time!"

When Maria came from the bathroom, Michael moved over on the couch and, when she sat down, put his arm around her. "So," he breathed in her ear, "Did you have any idea?"

She turned to look into his eyes. The wonder in them almost took her breath away. "No. Not yet."

His lips met hers. Then his eyes searched hers and moved over her body. "I shouldn't want so badly to take a pregnant lady to bed... Is it still OK? I mean, will we be able to...?"

Maria touched her finger to his lips. "Yes. Especially considering that I wouldn't have any idea for some time normally and we would, of course, continue to make love the entire time..."

"A little girl... Bet she looks just like you..." Michael was bemused.

"Hope not. She's yours too..." Her words were stopped by his kisses. He kissed her lips, then her eyelids, then her nose, then her lips once again, deeply. Maria took a deep breath. "Whoa, space boy! I don't see a bedroom here... at least not a private one!" She laughed shakily, half expecting part of the room to turn into a separate compartment. It didn't.

"OK... But soon." Michael tucked her comfortably against him, her back to his chest, and continued to tease her by kissing her neck and ears.

Jafra came over to Max. "We have arrived, your Highness."

"How do you know?" Max asked curiously. "I couldn't feel any change," he admitted frankly.

"Ah! The captain has advised that we are ready to descend. Please follow me to the boarding chamber."

The others had heard and followed Max and Jafra to the room they first arrived in. To their astonishment, there were several other people there also, ready to disembark. Liz recognized Lucina, who smiled at her and Liz nodded.

"Who's she?" Maria asked.

"Oh... I met her in the bathroom."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Really? She wasn't there when I was in there..."

Jafra gave the group a signal and they joined hands in a circle around the room. Moments later they stood in a similar chamber of metallic blue.

A man stepped forward, nodded to Jafra, then greeted Max with the formal nod, followed by a quick embrace. "Max!"

Max smiled warmly, glad that this person seemed to know him well. He took a guess. "Larek?"

"Of course." The man laughed. He was older than Max, tall and broad-shouldered. His hair was a deep auburn and his blue eyes searched for someone past Max.

Max pulled Liz slightly forward, "You remember my wife, Liz?"

"Yes." Larek smiled politely, but it was clear that she was not the one he sought.

Tess stepped out from her position slightly behind Isabel. Larek's eyes lit as she came toward him. He moved toward Tess as one in a daze. First he took her hand, then he reverently gathered her into his arms. Tess gazed into his eyes, closing hers as he bent to kiss her. He was so big! She felt completely enclosed as he held her... but he held her tenderly. Their first kiss ended and she looked into eyes that were bright with tears. For the first time in her life she felt that she was home...


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own "Roswell." I just like to play there.

**Part 8**

Silence grew around them until Larek and Tess became aware of it. He cleared his throat self-consciously as he met Max's look with one that faintly challenged him to say anything. He also kept his arm firmly around Tess.

"A more private area has been prepared for us. Please follow me."

Jafra and the party from earth followed as Larek swept Tess with him through a series of hallways and into a large room. He strode over to the oval table, seated Tess next to him with great formality and waved his hand toward the other chairs, a silent suggestion that they seat themselves. After a moment's pause, Max sat at the head of the table.

"How much do you know about the current situation?" Larek asked.

Jafra intervened. "I have not had time to adequately brief his Highness. The flight was not very long."

Impatiently, Larek got up and paced the room. "You may think it is simply a walk in and take it. You could not be more wrong! Kivar is a vicious animal and - like all such beasts - is merely more dangerous as his reign deteriorates. The battle is not over and each of you is in serious danger. Do not forget that!"

Max said, reasonably, "We are unlikely to lose sight of that, Larek... These last years on earth have held danger also..."

Larek spun and said intensely, "Not like this! Kivar was a galaxy away then. Only those he sent went to earth... **_He_** is far more deadly!"

"Look," Michael interposed. "I really think we can handle the truth. What do we need to do to bring him down?"

Jafra smiled coldly. "Magic." The room grew silent.

"Wait a minute," Liz broke the quiet. "Doesn't Kivar have as much magic as anyone else here? Anyway, isn't most of your 'magic' merely a more advanced science than we have on earth?"

Jafra turned to her. "Not entirely, your Highness. Some of it is. Some of it is a far more efficient use of energy than you have learned. But some of it... Some of it is what you would certainly have to call Magic."

"Oh." Liz looked at Maria, who shook her head. She had no idea what he meant either.

"Do you already have a plan... or is that part of what this session is all about?" Max wanted to move on.

Larek looked at Jafra, who glanced at Isabel, then looked away. Isabel caught the look. "What?"

"Well," Jafra started. "You must remember, my dear, that Kivar does not know that the part of you that betrayed us is dead."

"Maybe not," said Isabel. "But he also has no reason to think that I - either one of us - could be in this galaxy."

"Well," Larek said, "Actually..."

"No!" Max exclaimed. "Don't tell us that you set Isabel up as bait without so much as letting us know that you were doing it!"

"There should be no real danger to her... Your Highness, Kivar still **_loves_** the memory of the divine Velandra..." Jafra broke off as Max got up and approached him menacingly.

"So much so that **_she also _**died with us!"

Jafra looked down. "That was believed to be an accident... At the last moment, Velandra returned to the palace while it was under attack. Perhaps she felt some sense of guilt at the thought of allowing Rath to die while thinking she was with Kivar... Surely she thought she could join him afterward..."

Isabel spoke softly. "Perhaps Kivar let her die because she **_wasn't_** with him..." No one corrected her use of the third person.

Larek spoke intensely. "It doesn't **_matter_**. He wants her back!"

"No." Max shook his head. "We have to think of something else."

"But plans are already in place for Kivar to kidnap her. **_She_** will be our agent inside his walls..."

Max shouted, **_"No!" _**

Isabel got up. "I always thought this sounded too easy. I am, after all, in some way responsible for the situation. Also, as it turns out," she raised an eyebrow at Tess and Larek, Max and Liz, and Maria and Michael. "I am the most expendable... I'll do it."

Michael looked at Max. "Looks like you've been outvoted, Maxwell." He turned to Larek. "What do we do?"

Larek smiled coldly. "We let him take her and wait for her report. No one knows how much support he still has because the palace has been closed for years... Whenever someone thinks Kivar may be weakening and launches an attack, he has always had enough strength to ruthlessly crush the opposition."

"Then tell me," Max said softly, "What makes you think this time is an exception? Why should my sister risk her life?"

"Messages stopped going to earth. For a while he was frantic to find you. Then you communicated with your mother and his agents tracked you down. As you know, his offer at the summit, made by Nicholas on Kivar's behalf, was an elaborate hoax. You defeated his forces there, your Highness. He never reinforced his forces here. He was so sure that your death was the final key."

Max met Michael's look squarely. "As soon as you are in, Isabel," he turned to look at her, "You need to dreamwalk either Michael or me."

"Before or after Kivar ravishes me?" she inquired sweetly.

"I really don't think you need to be expecting **_that_**, my dear," said Jafra. "It has been some time and he would want to get reacquainted before making love, I am sure."

Isabel did not look at all reassured and the entire group glanced around uneasily. "Don't worry," Isabel finally said. "If there is anything I am perfectly good at, it's saying 'No'... not to mention 'Not right now.'"

Isabel turned to Larek. "So... What should I expect?"

His reply was direct and brief. "He has your vibration. He could pull you to him at any time."

Isabel nodded. No sooner had she taken a step away than she vanished. Max took a step in her direction before a choked cry from Maria made him turn to see that Liz also was gone. Angrily, he turned to a visibly startled Larek.

Liz found herself in a room with soft, dark walls, no windows, and a bed. A small light burned near the bed. Out of the darkness a man's voice spoke, "Make yourself comfortable, your Highness. We shall meet later."

Isabel found herself facing the handsomest man she had ever seen. His hair was pale blond with a burnished gold gleam highlighting it. His eyes were a dark green, slightly slanted like a cat's eyes. His smile was delighted. "Velandra! As beautiful as ever!"


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own "Roswell"... I just like to play there.

**Part 9**

"Contact my mother at once!" Max's tone did not brook refusal.

Nevertheless, Jafra again said, "But your Highness... No contact was to be made with your mother until..." The look in Max's eyes stopped him cold.

"Things have changed... Unless Liz's disappearance was part of your plan?"

"Well, no, but I'm sure there is some explanation..." Again Jafra's voice trailed off under Max's gaze.

Max looked at Larek again. "Well?"

Larek did not pretend to misunderstand. "No."

"It is obvious that Kivar is perfectly aware that I am here. If he can take Liz like that... he can take me just as easily. As you have said, we share the same vibration. The only difference is that she has the higher, feminine harmonic... He had her taken from me by force once before. That was the day our last enemies on earth died... This is a message from him. Now contact my mother!"

Larek and Jafra glanced at one another. Max motioned impatiently. "Unless one of you has the power she does?"

"No..." A new voice indicated that her presence had joined them via astral projection, although she was not there in person. "Zan!"

He turned and, for the first time, gave his mother the formal nod that he had been receiving. "Call me Max, please."

She smiled. "Max... On earth that means 'Great or Highest.' Perfect. We will all use your new name... Max, I came as soon as I felt Liz's transfer from this chamber. You are correct. Kivar has her... and he has your sister. There is no longer any time. We must regain them both immediately."

Isabel smiled into the green eyes. She did love self-confidence... and it would seem that Kivar had not only power, but charm! "Flattery will get you..." she pouted and turned away, "An audience..."

His laugh boomed out. "An audience! That's rich! I have followed your every move from a galaxy away and you plan to grant me an **_audience!"_**

He took Isabel into his arms. She did not resist, but she did not welcome him either. He grasped her chin and looked into her eyes. "Still the arrogant princess... The flash of your eyes turned to a smoldering flame for me alone, my treasure! All of your passion, your love were mine... I took you before... and lost you..."

His gaze left hers and she took a chance on a verbal shot. "On purpose. You let me die." It was not a question.

He shrugged petulantly, "A moment of rage... I told you not to go! Why could you not align yourself openly with me! It was **_me_** you loved! With you, the legitimate princess, a direct heir, by my side... my rule would have been accepted by all... Instead you left me... and went to them... You betrayed me when you left me..." He had turned away completely as he spoke.

Isabel started to move away but he turned back and clutched her arm, pulling her to him. "We have a second chance, Velandra! We can let the people know and you can be mine again...!" He kissed her, not seeming to notice that he got no response.

He let go of her reluctantly. "Only a few loose ends to take care of... It is time to clean out the remaining rebels and destroy all of those with the regal sorcery... except for you, of course... My queen will be the most powerful woman on the planet!" The beautiful green eyes shone with madness. When he reached the door, he looked back. "The next step is to destroy Zan once and for all! I have just the little bird to lure him into my trap!" He left the room.

Isabel paced the floor, wondering where he was going and who he was using as the lure he spoke of... When the obvious answer came to mind: Liz. He had Liz too!

A momentary panic shook Isabel as she realized how different this intrigue was from anything she had known in her life. Then she forced herself to calm down and focus on Liz. Good! Liz was asleep... which made it so very much easier to reach her.

"Liz!" "Liz!" "Liz!" "Liz!"

Liz had been asleep on the bed in the dark room. Suddenly she was wakened by several people urgently calling her name. Fuzzily she realized that Isabel, Max, and Max's mother were all calling her. And Maria? How could she hear Maria's voice?

Isabel was dominant at first. "Liz, Kivar is coming to wherever he has you. Watch out!"

Her husband's mother spoke and everyone listened to her voice of authority. "We must protect Liz and her child. The room's doors must stay invisible! Everyone! Focus!"

Maria's voice was in Liz's head too. "Liz? I am so afraid for you...!"

"No, Maria... Strength and focus. You can do this." Max's mother was insistent.

Liz could hear someone outside the room, searching for an entrance. None of those openings could be found. She was secure in the small dark room... but she was still in a prison.

Max turned to his mother. "I'm going wherever Liz is."

Larek said cautiously, "I am not sure **_that_** would be a good idea. Kivar has more high cards than we want him to have already..."

"Don't worry about it, Larek, just chill. I'm going too." Michael nodded at Max. "It'll be like old times."

"That's what I'm afraid of..." Jafra said worriedly. "But you don't remember the old times well enough..."

Maria rose and grasped Michael's sleeve. "How can you two go where Liz is? You don't even know where she is... **_She_** doesn't know where she is!"

Michael covered her hand with his. "Max knows where she is... Not exactly where... He couldn't give directions... But he can feel her wherever she is and reach out for her. I'm just with him."

Maria tried to smile. "Don't get yourself hurt, space boy... Our daughter is going to need her father."

He smiled tenderly down at her, then brushed her lips with his. "We'll be back. All of us."

Max and Michael stood side by side, arms touching slightly. Max turned his thoughts to his missing wife, pictured her in his mind, and locked his gaze with his mother's. She nodded and smiled.

They stood in the dark room with Liz. "Take her back, Michael," Max ordered.

"No. We can send her back..."

Max stopped him with a look. "Michael, I need to know she is safe. I still have to get out of this room and find Isabel. If Liz is not under my mother's protection Kivar will kill all of us and it will be finished. I have a plan but we have to get Liz out of here first... OK?"

"OK, Maxwell. No good asking you to wait for me to get back, is it?" Max didn't say anything but Michael did not expect him to answer. "Watch your back. I'll get her there."

"Wait!" Liz turned to Max. "Don't make me a widow, Max... Be careful!"

Max smiled grimly and kissed her. Michael stepped up behind Liz and put his hands on her shoulders. Max focused his thoughts on his mother and the room they had left. So did Michael. Liz and Michael vanished.

"Can you hear me, Izzy?" Max asked mentally.

"Yeah... Where are you?"

"Michael and I dropped in and he took Liz back to the moon. How was your meeting with Kivar?"

"Max, he is **_crazy!_** **_Seriously!"_**

"I'll accept your assessment. Anyone who has been a dictator from behind walls all these years couldn't **_possibly_** be all there! Any weaknesses you could spot?"

"No... Yes! He really loses it when he starts thinking about the past... I don't know if there is any way to use that..." She added, as an afterthought. "Larek and Jafra were right about one thing."

"What's that?"

"He **_does_** still think I'm pretty hot stuff... And he **_says _**he wants me back!"

Max smiled. "You are, Izzy, you are! Let's just find you a **_good_** guy this time, OK?"

Isabel sniffed. "I'll find someone for **_myself_**, thank you!"

Max walked to a wall in the room and muttered, "Exit, please." A door opened silently and he edged along the wall in the direction of Isabel's vibration.

He did not see the shadow come up behind him until it was too late, but as he lost consciousness he heard a voice familiar from his nightmares say, "Better not kill him just yet... It will be a waste of time if we don't get all of them... And **_don't_** kill Velandra this time!"


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own "Roswell". I just like to play there.

**Part 10**

The dowager queen greeted their return with relief, then turned to the others. "There is no more time. We must act now! Together. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Good. Jafra, you and Larek place Tess between you. Michael, take Maria's hand and Liz's. Maria, stand beside Jafra." She seemed reluctant to finish even though she was urgently placing each of them. "Alain?"

Michael saw Maria look at him inquiringly. He shook his head at the unfamiliar name.

A man entered the room. He went toward the queen and knelt before her.

"As I told you long ago, vows are not to be taken lightly. You pledged your life to the Creator of all before my daughter was born. You should have had the signs taken first so that you would not have been so foolish with your soulmate's arrival eminent. Velandra was born and my late lord was sentimental enough to allow you to tutor her. Naturally she fell in love with you. If you had not taken vows she would have been betrothed to you from the cradle instead of to Rath. Well," she paused. "I was mistaken in my refusal to release you from your vows. After everything that has happened, I must do so in any case. The lives of my son and my daughter depend on it. Get up. Stand next to me."

The man rose, dignified in his pale blue robe. He turned toward the group. Those from earth gasped. His dark hair and very blue eyes were similar to those of Alex Whitman... but his features mirrored Michael's. Michael was stunned as Alain smiled at him and leaned toward him. "I am your brother. Our mother is sister to Jafra and the queen. I look forward to speaking with you at greater length..."

"Me too," Michael managed to say before the queen again demanded their attention.

They now formed a small circle. "Please join hands. Remember that our people are depending on us. We are an invasion force." She smiled at Liz and at Maria. They each felt a small tingle and, looking at one another, saw that they had become invisible. "We can still see you." the queen assured them. "You simply have not learned how to really see yet... Kivar and his forces won't know how to see you either. Michael, keep Maria by you... Alain, please guard Liz carefully; she carries our future king within her. As soon as we arrive, turn outward in full force. Use your power. Watch for Isabel and Max to join with us." At these words she sent her thoughts out to meet her children.

Isabel bent over Max. "Wake up! Hurry! Something is happening!"

Max rose with some difficulty, rubbing his head where he was stunned. "Our mother will be here any moment with our forces... We have to be ready..."

The room lit up as the energy of the invasion force materialized. Isabel helped a groggy Max over to the circle that stood alertly positioned. Her mother directed them into the circle so that Max stood next to Liz and Isabel was next to a stranger who seemed surprisingly familiar.

"Now what?" Isabel asked.

Her mother smiled coldly. "Use your links and your powers. Feel where the enemy is... Then touch him and those allied with him with the lethal extent of your power... Now!"

The walls of the room seemed to disappear due to all the commands for exit and entrance as the enemy was engaged. Tess was invaluable with her balls of fire. She and Isabel worked together in confusing the enemy with illusion. Max, Michael, Larek, and Alain fought like men who were invulnerable. Then Kivar entered.

He took in the image of the older queen. "You're tired. Leave us." With a wave of his hand she was gone. The bright glow and some of the power in the room left with her.

"Come, Velandra! You don't want to get into the habit of making the same mistake twice! These people are doomed."

Isabel felt a deep cold pull at her, disentangling her from her mother's forces. A warm hand squeezed hers and she looked up into the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen... and a face at once dear and familiar. Warmth flooded her being and Kivar had no hold on her.

Once the link between Alain and Isabel was established the invasion force shimmered with power. Max put Liz behind him, Michael did the same with Maria. Then Alain, Isabel, Tess, and Larek joined them in a full barrage of supernatural power toward Kivar. His shield held for a few moments, then collapsed. His body exploded in a wave of energy. Isabel closed her eyes and saw his essence still in the room.

"I don't think anyone is going to want to bring you back," She said thoughtfully. With a wave of her hand the last of Kivar was gone.

"Does he still exist? Could he really be brought back?" asked Liz.

"Oh, yes..." Jafra assured her. "We are as immortal as you are."

"Where did he go?" Maria wanted to know.

"To hell." Isabel replied. "Or the closest equivalent I could devise. He's gone. No one is stupid enough to want to bring him back."

Then she turned to Alain. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Only from always, Highness." He kissed her hand.

"Oh..." She said.

Michael grinned. "Stop teasing her and kiss the girl!"

To everyone's delight, Alain did. Isabel felt her reserve desert her. This man had real potential. He was even tall enough to make her feel petite! Isabel looked up with a flirty smile. This was going to be fun!

Max looked around at what was left of the old palace. It would always hold memories of horror. It was there that he had grown up long ago, in a life of ease where he took his role as prince for granted. There his sister had betrayed him when Kivar had attracted her after her love for Alain was rejected by their parents. His father had died there shortly before the revolution. The place was the tomb for their former bodies and was the place where their mother's considerable supernatural powers had gathered their essences and arranged for a trusted scientist who had royal blood to use science and alchemy to bring them back. Finally, it was here that his family became a solid force... a power for the good of their planet... and, maybe, for the universe. Max did not want his son to be born there.

He joined with his cousins Michael and Alain to obliterate all that remained of it. Max ordained that the grounds be turned into a memorial garden.

Max watched covertly as Michael and Alain worked together in a smooth pattern. Every now and then their glances would meet and they would smile. As soon as the work of destroying the palace was complete, Max drew Michael aside.

"So... Cousin...?" Max grinned at his oldest friend, acknowledging the new bond between them.

"Looks like it, Maxwell." Michael could not help returning the grin, but within moments his eyes shifted to find the man who was his brother.

"You two have a lot to discuss. I'll leave you alone for a while." Max left to find his mother and his wife.

Alain came over to Michael. "Our mother is waiting with joy and impatience to see you again and meet Maria."

"Wait until we tell her about her granddaughter." Michael's eyes twinkled and he unconsciously drew up a bit taller in his pride.

"No! Already?!" Alain gave him a spontaneous hug. "Congratulations!"

Michael was still for a moment before returning his brother's embrace. It felt so right... and he knew he had been missing it all his life.

"Thanks! Our mother... What is she like?"

"I think I'll let you come to your own conclusions... We will be with her tonight."

Maria came in search of Michael. She hesitated to interrupt his first talk with his brother. A new look of peace was on his face. She was turning to leave when Michael saw her. "Don't go..."

She went to stand next to him. One of the things she especially loved these days was the way his arm immediately moved to embrace her as soon as she came near him. Her husband smiled down at her. "I wanted my brother to meet you... We will be spending the evening with my mother."

"That sounds wonderful, Michael... It's great to meet you, Alain..."

The dowager queen's power had been severely tapped when Kivar challenged her because she did not have the energy reserves of her body. Now that she was with them in person she was once again herself.

She sat with her daughter-in-law, answering some of Liz's questions. "So only those of royal blood carry the genes for various magical abilities... You and Maria also have some magic of a basic kind which we will teach you to develop. That was part of the reason earth was chosen as a refuge for my children... Humans are very much like us... But the history lessons can wait... Here comes Max." She smiled as Max strolled up to them.

"One more question, please?"

"Of course..."

"What was all of that special positioning about before we went into battle?"

"Powers - anyone's powers - are stronger when they are linked by close vibratory ties. Each person is at his optimum when in the presence of his soulmate - the one person who completes him. Links to other relatives will work also however... the closer any two are, the better the link. I was establishing the closest possible links within our group. Do you realize that within our circle we had four pairs of soulmates? I knew that it was vital to include both the soulmates for Max and for Isabel in order to be able to include them so quickly from a distance. Their lives depended on it! All of that gave us our force necessary to override Kivar's blocks. Do you see?"

"I think so."

Max added, "I think it is time we settled down and built our own home. This world will be better than it has been for centuries..."

"Yes," his mother nodded approvingly, "When did you find that out?"

Max smiled. "I have my talents also... When I was working on the old palace - to see it in all its actualities, I saw a lot more than I had known before. I saw myself wandering through life as if oblivious..."

His mother interrupted, "You were loved! The people loved you - as their prince and also later as their king!"

"But I betrayed them by being unaware of all that was out of balance." Max continued, "Father had died... a major change in dynamics. I saw my ascension to the throne merely as a continuation... but it was more than that. Larek, my friend and cousin, was loyal but deeply unhappy that I was to marry the girl he loved. Ava did not love me but was loyal to me and to her father's commitment; she was also my friend. That loyalty caused her death. Alain might as well have been imprisoned in ice he was so withdrawn, while Velandra burned with resentment. Rath was surly because Velandra made it clear that she did not want him and Alain could not talk to him; his loyalty cost him his life also. Kivar waited on the fringes of the family... He played a bold game which should never have succeeded... It did only because we – the members of our family - were fragmented so badly. Today we were able to defeat him because our unity and love were so strong that nothing on the planet could overcome it..." His smile lit his face at the memory. He looked at his wife and his mother. "And you and Maria were a part of it...!"

"You think so?" She teased.

"Mmmmhmmm." He pulled her up from the seat and kissed her.

"Well, space boy," said Maria. "Looks like we have a pretty good place to raise a family. Lots of friends and relatives..."

"Yeah. Well..."

Maria turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I know, Michael..."

He didn't meet her look directly... "Know what?"

"What all of this means to you... And I love it... Because I love you!" She kissed him passionately. "So... Do you think your mother will like me?"

Michael's eyes were tender and affectionate as he finally looked into her eyes. "Of course. How could anyone help loving you?"

Larek had barely taken time to pay his respects to Max. He was eager to take Tess to his home and make arrangements with Jafra for their wedding.

Alain's blue eyes lit with a flame he had never allowed himself to feel since he realized what a ruin he had made of his life. His beautiful soulmate stood in front of him. He rose and put his hands on her shoulders as he looked into her beautiful eyes...

"Just don't think this is a walk in and take it. You still have to woo me, you know." Isabel said.

"I'll take my chances,"Alain said.

THE END ... WATCH FOR THE SEQUEL, "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD"


End file.
